Mental Health PTSD

Mental Illness Creative Paper Assignment

"A Day Living With My Mental Illness"

Each student will write a one-page paper in first person as if you are living with your assigned mental illness.

Be creative but realistic. The goal is to demonstrate understanding of what daily life might feel like for someone with this condition.

(my diagnosis is PTSD and in this scenario i am a veteran who just came from the army)

Include:

● Your diagnosis ● Your thoughts and feelings ● Symptoms you experience ● Challenges in daily life ● How the illness affects school, work, or relationships ● Things that make symptoms worse ● Things that help you cope ● Any medications or treatments you might receive

Writing Guidelines:

● First person ("I feel anxious when...") ● One full page minimum APA format double spaced ● Typed ● Be respectful and realistic ● Avoid stereotypes

Example Starters:

● "Every morning I wake up feeling..." ● "The hardest part of my day is..." ● "People don't understand that..." ● "I worry about..." ● "Sometimes I feel like..."

Paper Grading Checklist (50 Points)

Content (15 points)

● ☐ Diagnosis clearly identified/ Symptoms accurately described (5 pts) ● ☐ Daily challenges included (5 pts) ● ☐ Coping or treatment mentioned (5 pts)

Creativity and Realism (10 points)

● ☐ Creative and engaging, written in first person (5 pts) ● ☐ Realistic portrayal of illness (5 pts)

Understanding of Mental Illness (10 points)

● ☐ Demonstrates understanding of condition (5 pts) ● ☐ Avoids stereotypes or misinformation (5 pts)

Writing Quality (5 points)

● ☐ One full page Double spaced 12 font (2 pts) ● ☐ Clear and organized writing (3 pts)

Reflection (Second page 5 points)

1. What mental illness were you assigned? 2. What did you learn about this condition? 3. Did this change how you view patients with mental illness? 4. What would you do differently as a nurse after learning about this condition?

SOAP note (5 points)

● ☐ Create a SOAP note on a classmate with their mental illness and turn it in after the group session hand written or emailed to me.